


Eyes Wide Open

by Lots_of_Little_Pink_Clouds



Series: Birds of a Feather [9]
Category: Vampire: The Masquerade, Vampire: The Masquerade (Choice of Games Visual Novels), Vampire: The Masquerade - Night Road
Genre: Car Chases, Choice of Games - Freeform, Gen, Lettow and Beau bond more, Vampires, Z is really scary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 07:42:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29871390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lots_of_Little_Pink_Clouds/pseuds/Lots_of_Little_Pink_Clouds
Summary: December 15th 2013Three months ago, Beau found a lead on Modian's disappearance.Two months ago, he, Dove, and Lettow narrowed down the options to one possible suspect: an individual named Z.One month ago, Beau began following Z, gathering as much information on them as he could.One week ago, Lettow and Dove met Beau at his haven where the Malkavian asked for backup in ransacking Z's apartment.Lettow volunteered.**Lettow and the Bloodlines PC steal a laptop, get into a car chase, and somehow manage to get away with it.
Series: Birds of a Feather [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2092887
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Eyes Wide Open

**December 15th 2013**

"Do you see anything?" Prince Lettow Kaminsky asks as he watches the street below.

"Not yet," Beauregard Sawyer replies.

Lettow leans back from the edge, disappointed.

The two Kindred sit on a roof overlooking Tucson's newest Starbucks. It's set into the first floor of a three-storey building, with apartments above on the upper floors. The neon "OPEN" sign in the front window blinks off as the night shift prepare to head home for the evening. Riga circles overhead, a shadow illuminated by moonlight.

The desire to find Aila's killer remained at the forefront of Lettow's mind for the past four years, lingering like a disease, a festering Beast hungering for justice. However, as Tucson's Prince, he couldn't afford to shirk his duties. With the Second Inquisition on the rise, the safety of the Kindred in his domain became his top priority. The threat they posed consumed his every waking moment as he worked to outmaneuver and divert their attention. But he knew that this task would only get harder as time went on. Alexander and Dove's workloads also increased, preventing them from looking into Aila's case. And he wouldn't dare give any sort of ammunition to the Kindred of his court to use against him.

Therefore, he turned to Modian, an old friend from before the Great War and Dove's sire.

The Nosferatu was more than willing to assist him after hearing of the circumstances behind Aila's Final Death (and being appropriately compensated). Every two months since he was hired, Modian updated Lettow on his findings. However, things changed when Modian missed his check-in in February. When June passed and there was still no word, Lettow informed Dove of what happened. Dove, after justifiably cursing Lettow out, went to check her sire's havens within the city. But all his properties had been sold, the evidence he gathered was erased, and all trace of him was but dust on a Gehenna wind. Modian was long gone.

Lettow wanted to send someone to look for him. Dove argued that they didn't have enough people. Before the discussion could escalate, Beau offered his services.

As the Prince's Oracle, Beau's job was simple: show his face at Elysium and predict threats before they became a problem. But while he abided by Lettow's request to socialise while at The Viper ("navigating tumultuous waters and avoiding leviathans," as Beau called it), the Prince knew his friend would rather to be anywhere else. The Malkavian liked his privacy. So much so, in fact, that he earned a reputation as being friendly, eccentric, and mysterious.

("You hear that?" Beau laughed after Alexander was dismissed. He flung himself into one of the chairs in Lettow's office and propped his legs over one of its arms. "I'm 'mysterious'!"

Dove scoffed. "I was there when you blew up that warehouse in '05.1 You're not mysterious, you're a hazard to society."

"That was _one_ time!"

Lettow chuckled then asked Dove to hand over last week's reports.)

Because of this relative obscurity and the necessity to keep the Nosferatu's work secret, Lettow agreed to have Beau spearhead the search for Modian. The Malkavian's efficiency surprised both him and Dove, when she found out.

Three months ago, Beau found a lead on Modian's disappearance.

Two months ago, he, Dove, and Lettow narrowed down the options to one possible suspect: an individual named Z.

One month ago, Beau began following Z, gathering as much information on them as he could.

One week ago, Lettow and Dove met Beau at his haven where the Malkavian asked for backup in ransacking Z's apartment.

(Beau claims he can't remember anything from when he was human. But the way he threw himself into the research, his determination to find answers, and how he directed conversations with others at The Viper reminded Lettow of his old friend, Jasper Knowles.2 Lettow wondered how he was doing. It's been some time since they last spoke.)

They argued on what to do. Dove couldn't spare the people, since many were either out of town running messages to other cities or smuggling goods across the Mexican border. Beau insisted that if they didn't act soon, Z would vanish and their opportunity to find out more would be lost. Then Lettow volunteered.

"The last few years have been hard for the Camarilla," he had said. "But the disasters that plagued us since the destruction of the Tremere Chantry in Vienna have been dealt with. The SI is still a threat, but we have done everything we can to protect ourselves for the time being. The only thing left to do is wait."

Lettow sighed. "But I must admit, I am tired of waiting." Tired of waiting, tired of failing, tired of not doing enough (though Dove would say otherwise). "And finding Aila's killer is personal. I would be a fool to squander this chance to help instead of letting others do the work for me."

Their plan of action set, Beau and Lettow organized their break-in to occur the following week. Alexander cleared Lettow's schedule. Dove provided them with alibis. And when the night finally came, they dressed casually and were on their way.

"Prince?" Beau bumps their shoulders together, drawing Lettow out of his thoughts.

"My apologies, what were you saying?"

"We've still got some time before the tapeworm leaves." Beau leans back on his elbows. He stares down at the Starbucks, unblinking. The city lights reflect off his aviators - Lettow noticed his friend chose to wear the red pair tonight. "You're jumpy. What'd the SI do now?"

The Malkavian had effectively locked himself in his haven for the past three months, pouring over data and research. It's not surprising that he was behind on current events.

Lettow sighs. "News has reached us that the Prince of London, Lady Anne Bowesley, was destroyed. We do not know if this is true, but one thing is for certain: London has fallen."

Beau scrunches his nose. "Sucks to be them."

"Indeed."

"And the good news?"

"The Camarilla has taken Mexico City."

A feral grin stretches across Beau's face. "And so the bells chime for the doll-faced."3

"Doll-face?" It takes Lettow a moment before the name's significance hits him. "Ah, one of your sire's other childer. I forgot one settled there."

"Honestly, I think Father did too."

Lettow snorts.

"Wouldn't be a surprise," Beau continues. "There were so many of us. But he was Sabbat, so I guess it didn't really matter to him in the end."

They watch as a woman tries to go into the Starbucks. She pulls on the door before knocking. One of the baristas makes their way over, opens the door, and talks to her. As the conversation goes on, the woman grows more and more agitated before throwing up her hands and stalking off.

"Bitch." Beau clicks his tongue in disapproval.

"That is America for you," Lettow replies, shaking his head. "When did you say that... 'tapeworm' would leave?"

Beau waves a hand at the Starbucks. "Once they're gone."

Lettow hums and settles in to wait. He looks up at Riga, who continues to lazily circle above.

Below, the intersection light turns red. His eagle companion lands on the building across from them and preens her feathers. He watches her. A soft breeze brushes past, carrying with it a song of dust, sunshine, and memories long forgotten. His gaze turns eastward.

The rumbling of the cars on the road creates a soft vibration under his hands where he and Beau sit on the rooftop. One of the lampposts flickers in his peripheral vision, on and off, on and off, on and off before it gives up completely and dies. The eastern sky, however, encompasses everything. Its darkness swallows all but the stars that twinkle defiantly. Wisps of cloud flutter like dandelion fluff on a summer sunbeam and on the horizon, he can see the sand of Arizona's desert, twirling about like a dancer.

He wants to fly again.

Oh, how he wants to fly.

Lettow feels a tug on his jacket sleeve. He blinks and, in a daze, turns to Beau.

The Malkavian's attention on the Starbucks hasn't wavered. Moonlight reflects off the frames of his aviators, the shadows of the city dancing in its red sunset lenses and obscuring his eyes. But the furrow in Beau's brow tells Lettow everything he needs to know.

Beau says nothing. But his fingers still clutch Lettow's sleeve, worrying at the frayed fabric with his nails. Lettow swallows and wonders how much time passed while he was distracted.

"How is your project going?" he asks, desperate to change the subject.

Beau shrugs. "Complicated."

"I thought you were still analyzing your sire's diary?"

"Oh, I am. But I've been branching out into other stuff."

"Such as?"

"I'm not sure I'm allowed to tell you that."

Lettow raises an eyebrow.

"... It's Malkavian shit," Beau relents. "Have you heard of the Paths?"

"Ah, something to do with the Network?" Lettow slowly relaxes.

He has heard of the Malkavian Madness Network. Once you get to be his age, you come to learn a lot about the other Clans that make up Kindred society. But aside from rumors, he knows little else. He also understands Beau's hesitance to speak on it - Clan secrets are usually kept within the Clan. And while the Children of Malkav do as they please, there are some things that even they aren't willing to talk about.

"Yeah." Beau lets go of Lettow's sleeve to take off his aviators. He starts cleaning the lenses with his shirt. His heterochromatic eyes remain focused on the Starbucks. "The Paths connect us all. But, there's like... a pothole in it. A void where someone should be."

"A void?"

Beau nods. "It's like someone's face in a family photo is cut out. Or a clearing in a forest that spans miles. Or a big ass pothole in the middle of the road. And I'm trying to... traverse it?" His rigorous cleaning slows as he thinks. He shrugs. "Let's go with traverse. But yeah."

"So this... 'void' makes it difficult for you to connect to the Network?"

"No. But also, kind of? The Paths are already hard enough to walk on, but the void makes it _more_ difficult. It's like... going from one side of the Grand Canyon to the other. There's no way around except through. And when you look down, you see giant rocks that you can use to jump across. You know that if you fall off the rocks, you wouldn't survive the impact when you hit the ground. But there's literally no other way. Therefore, you have no choice but to jump and hope you don't die." He sighs, frustrated. "The point is, it's taking me a while."

Lettow takes a minute to process this. "Aren't you afraid you'll fall?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I am." Beau peers through his aviators, looking for smudges. Satisfied, he puts them back on. Lettow ignores how Beau's hands shake. "Usually I have Heather with me when I start looking. She can pull me back out, but I've never gone too far where she's needed to."

Lettow frowns. "What are you looking for that it requires taking that risk?"

"I don't know." Beau leans back to stare at the sky and purses his lips. "I just know it's important."

Lettow watches Beau. The Malkavian looks lost. He looks as if he's forgotten something and is straining to remember what.

There is longing there too. A deep visceral longing, thick as vitae and as viscus as tar. A longing as expansive as the skies above, or as dense as a forest's foliage, or as dark as the deepest parts of the ocean. That longing scares Lettow.

How far would his friend go to achieve his goal?

And how much of him would be left by the end of it?

(And an even deeper part of Lettow fears losing someone, anyone else that he cares about.)

Instead of voicing any of that, the Prince places a hand on the Malkavian's shoulder and says, "Be careful, Beau."

Beau turns to him. His mismatched eyes stare at Lettow, scanning his face through red-tinted lenses. Lettow refrains from swallowing, refrains from giving away how truly, utterly worried he is. Some part of him thinks the Malkavian already knows. Then Beau smiles, a shy, timid thing.

Lettow's worry gives way to confusion. "What?"

"... Nothing, it's nothing." Beau shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair as he looks away. "Sorry, got distracted for a second."

"If you're sure..."

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Thanks." Beau pushes himself to his feet and stretches. "You're great, you know that, right?"

Lettow blinks. "... I'm sorry?"

Beau shoves his hands into his pockets. "Just wanted you to know. I feel like you don't hear that sort of thing enough. Or at least, not from people who mean it." He opens his mouth again as if to say something else, then closes it when he reconsiders.

Lettow sits in shock. Then he stands and awkwardly coughs.

"I... Thank you? I-"

"Look!" Beau interrupts, reaching to tug on Lettow's jacket again. He points towards the alleyway beside the Starbucks, where a hulking humanoid figure steps out from the shadows and onto the busy Tucson street. "The tapeworm's leaving! Come on!"

Then the Malkavian makes his way across the rooftop, jumping off the edge and into the alley below. Lettow shakes his head, pushes his thoughts to the back of his mind to worry about later, and follows.

* * *

The two Kindred wait for Z's intimidating figure to disappear up the road before crossing the street. Sliding into the alley, they pass by the door that leads into the building and towards the fire escape at the back. Beau pulls up his hood and takes his aviators off, tucking them into the inside pocket of his jacket. Then he reaches into a different pocket and pulls out two sets of latex gloves, one of which he hands to Lettow.

"Thorough, aren't you?" the Prince asks, examining them.

"What can I say?" Beau replies. The gloves stretch like rubber bands as he tugs them on. "Technology's a real bitch to work around."

Lettow puts on his gloves. Then Beau holds out two black cloth masks.

"Which one you want?"

"Now I think you're just paranoid." Lettow takes the mask in Beau's left hand, puts it on, then adjusts the straps.

Beau shrugs, doing the same. "It's not paranoia when everyone's out to get you." The Malkavian turns his attention upwards, ignoring Lettow's raised eyebrow. He jerks his chin at the ladder above them leading to the first apartment. "Can you get that?"

Lettow tilts his head. Riga flies into the alleyway. She latches onto the ladder with her talons and knocks it down towards them. The metal rattles as it falls. Beau catches it to stifle the sound.

"Man, that's so cool," he sighs, shaking his head.

"My offer still stands."

Beau starts climbing. "And my answer hasn't changed."

Lettow believes Beau's hesitance to drink from him stems from a fear of being bound. The Prince doesn't blame him - after reading about what Gerard Pelletier had his childer do, any reasonable Kindred would be afraid. Even so, Lettow can't help but think that Beau is needlessly handicapping himself.

As the Malkavian reaches the top of the ladder, Lettow follows. Then they clamor up the metal stairs to the third floor apartment. Beau kneels beside the window and pulls out a set of lockpicks.

"Hold this for a sec." He hands the picks to Lettow and starts rifling through his pockets again.

"I am learning many new things about you tonight." Lettow leans against the brick wall and examines the tools. They're well-worn and scuffed.

"All good, I hope?"

Riga lands on the metal railing beside Lettow. He reaches over to scratch under her chin. "I wasn't aware you were one for burglary."

"Not burglary. I just know how to pick locks. Found it!" Beau pulls out a USB. He holds it to Lettow. "Trade?"

The Prince snorts. He hands Beau the lockpicks, taking the USB. "What is this?"

"Dove gave it to me." Beau starts tinkering with the window's locking mechanism. "It's a hacking-thingie. She said she got it from her childe. I think their name is Salem?"

"Ah yes, Salem. That makes sense."

In 1999, the former Prince of Tucson gave several Kindred permission to sire a childe. The ambitious Elin Olivecrona, the artistic D'Espine, and the revolutionary Pattermuster were some of the lucky few. Dove was also amongst their number. She chose a person named Salem, whose specialties included an intensive understanding of humanity's new technological advancements. Lettow has met them several times by virtue of working closely with Dove, and would rate their capabilities with computers to be on par with Modian's. Which is to say, very good.

"Aha!" The window opens with a click. Beau gets to his feet and gives Lettow an exaggerated bow. "After you!"

The Prince shakes his head. Riga launches herself back into the air as he carefully steps into the apartment. Beau climbs in after him.

They enter the apartment's living room. On their left, connected to the living room, is a small kitchen. On their right are two closed doors. Directly opposite them, down a narrow hallway, is the door that leads to the main building.

"I don't like this," Beau whispers.

Lettow agrees. The apartment is too empty. There are no pictures on the walls, no books lying around, no knick-knacks or bobbles that make a place a home. It's too quiet. Too devoid of life.

"Let's try those rooms," the Prince says, gesturing towards the closed doors. "And be careful."

"Don't need to tell me twice."

They make their way to the first door. Inside they find a bedroom. A thin layer of dust coats the bedsheets and closet. Beau checks the connected bathroom. While the sounds of cabinets opening and closing fill the space, Lettow checks under the bed and behind the bedframe. As he starts looking through the bedside table and the dresser, Beau comes out of the bathroom.

"I'm gonna check that other room," he says. Lettow waves him off and Beau disappears back out into the hall.

Five minutes of searching pass before Lettow gives up. Z clearly did not hide anything of importance in their bedroom. In fact, they barely had _any_ personal belongings.

"Hey!" Lettow looks up to see Beau in the doorway, a wide smile on his face. "I think I found it!"

The Malkavian leads him to the second room. Lettow steps into a makeshift office space complete with desk, stationary, and most importantly, a laptop. Beau sits in the office chair behind the desk and boots it up. The two wait in anticipation as the device slowly turns on. The blue start-up screen illuminates the room.

...

**PASSWORD REQUIRED**

...

Lettow inserts the USB into the laptop. A pop-up appears on the screen.

...

**WOULD YOU LIKE TO ALLOW 'FILE-21304_HACK_ALL_THE_THINGS' TO MAKE CHANGES TO YOUR COMPUTER?**

**YES / NO**

...

Beau clicks yes. A loading screen appears.

"Now we just have to wait."

Just as the Malkavian says this, they hear a click come from the hall. Both Kindred freeze as the sound of the front door opening echoes through the apartment. Beau's head snaps to look at Lettow.

" _What do we do_?" he mouths, eyes wide.

The Prince frowns. The front door slams closed.

Silence.

Lettow raises a finger to his lips. Beau nods, closes the laptop, picks it up, and tucks it under his arm. Then he stands and vanishes. Lettow turns his attention back to the open hall door. He strains to hear something, anything.

Nothing.

Then heavy footsteps start pounding their way towards them.

The Prince ducks behind the desk as Z marches into the room, barely dodging a bullet to the head. The hulking humanoid continues firing, sending splinters everywhere.

Lettow lets vitae pool in his mouth. He reaches for the office chair. When he hears Z reloading, the Prince stands and throws it at the lumbering brute. Lettow vaults over the desk as Z bats away his makeshift projectile. The chair breaks when it hits the wall.

He dodges the next spray of gunfire and shifts. Lettow's cloth mask tears as his face restructures itself to form a maw of sharp, wolf teeth. The bones in his legs crack and rearrange themselves to make him taller, and fur grows on his arms and back. He throws himself at Z, knocking the person out the door.

"Go!" Lettow roars. He hears Beau's footsteps as the Malkavian makes a break for the window.

Z aims their gun in the direction of the sound. The Prince growls, grabbing the person's wrist and slamming it into the ground. He hears the bone snap. The shot goes wide, hitting a wall. Lettow continues to squeeze Z's wrist, causing them to let go of their weapon.

The person barely flinches. They bare their teeth at Lettow and kick him in the ribs. He jolts as he feels something crack. Z uses his moment of weakness to roll on top of him.

The other Kindred curls their hand into a fist and starts punching. Lettow feels blood soak his maw. He snaps at the person, teeth sinking into their arm, the vitae in their veins flowing into his mouth. He claws at them, tearing at their chest, their arms, their neck, their face, anywhere he can reach. He finally manages to throw them off, pushing them into the wall.

Lettow stumbles to his feet and runs towards the window. Z crashes into him from behind, knocking both of them out onto the fire escape balcony. The two Kindred tumble off the side, smashing through the railing and falling into the alleyway.

Lettow feels something break when he lands on the hard concrete. He quickly rolls out of the way of Z's next strike. The person's fist slams into the ground where his head was, creating a crater and sending up dirt and stone.

A gunshot rings out. Z jerks back and reaches up to clutch their bleeding shoulder.

"Come on! We gotta go!" Beau shouts. He steps out from his black Honda Accord, aiming his revolver at the hulking humanoid.

Lettow runs, shifting back into his regular form and ducking as Riga swoops down from above to attack the Kindred behind him. The Prince dives into the driver's seat, slams the door shut, and buckles his seatbelt. Beau hurries to the other side. As soon as he closes the door, Lettow steps on the gas.

Beau grabs the handle grip to stop himself from being flung from his seat. "What. The. Fuck."

"Did you grab the laptop?"

"Yeah, it's in the back."

"And the download?"

"Failed. Gotta restart it. I'll do it later." Beau looks at the side mirror. "Oh Lord, they coming."

Lettow glances at the rear view mirror. Z follows behind them, swerving through traffic like a madman. "Persistent, aren't they?"

"That's one way of putting it."

Lettow presses harder on the gas.

"We're going _faster_?!"

"We need to lose them."

"I _know that_! Fuck!"

Lettow looks at Beau out of the corner of his eye. The Malkavian's hands are pale and shaking. He tears off his cloth mask, tossing it into the back of the car. His nails dig into his palms, cutting through his latex gloves and drawing blood.

"Beauregard. Calm yourself."

"I _am_ calm!"

The Prince sends him a glare. Beau withers in his seat.

"Right. Calm. Oh fuck, fuck, fuck..." He swallows hard and takes a deep breath. Then he pulls his revolver out and rolls the window down. He leans out, raises his weapon at their pursuer, and starts shooting.

Lettow checks the rear view mirror. Behind them, Z weaves through traffic, dodging all of Beau's shots. Once the Malkavian stops to reload, they roll their own window down and take aim. Lettow swerves.

Beau swears, the momentum throwing him into the passenger door. He pulls himself back into place only for Lettow to turn a corner and send him careening in the opposite direction. The Malkavian barely catches himself with the handle grip before he could crash face first into Lettow's shoulder.

Police sirens drone out the sound of honking cars, screaming pedestrians, and the threat of the Kindred hunting them.

"Dove's gonna be _pissed_ ," Beau gasps. He coughs and finishes reloading.

Lettow barks a laugh.

The Malkavian glares. "You're a fucking maniac, you know that?" He doesn't wait for Lettow to respond before poking his head out the window again to shoot at Z. "I thought the plan was to lose them?!"

"I'm working on it!"

"Work faster please!"

The Prince shifts gears and takes the ramp onto the highway. Z follows. Three police cars tear off from traffic after them.

Z speeds up and rams the back of their Honda Accord. Lettow lurches forwards. He locks his arms to stop himself from knocking his forehead into the steering wheel and bemoans the fact they weren't using his Rolls Royce. Unfortunately, the significantly faster vehicle was too eye-catching for their delicate mission.

Meanwhile, the inertia flings Beau backwards. He slams his head on the roof of the car and drops his gun. It falls onto the road and disappears under the tires of the cars behind them. A litany of cuss words escape the Malkavian as he ducks incoming gunfire from the police. Lettow glances at Beau.

"You're shot."

Beau rolls his bloody shoulder. He winces. "It's fine. _Please_ be more careful, I'm not interested in dying again."

"I cannot promise that." The Prince jerks the car into a different lane.

"Think I'm gonna be sick..." Beau takes a shaky breath. "I have another gun in the back."

Lettow grits his teeth as he watches their pursuers in the rear view mirror. "Help would be appreciated!"

The Malkavian grabs Lettow's shoulder to steady himself. He reaches into the back and pulls out the gun in question. Lettow does a double take.

"You just carry around an assault rifle in the back of your car?"

Beau checks the ammo. "Did a favor for a guy back in LA. He gave it to me as a thank you gift." He leans out the side and fires at Z. "Wonder how he's doing with the Jester dead."

"Wonder later," Lettow replies. "I'm going to get off the highway and try to lose them in the alleys."

Beau grunts in acknowledgement, head twitching to the side to avoid their attackers' bullets.

The Prince veers right to take the next exit. As Z and the police gain on them, Lettow pushes the Honda Accord to go as fast as it can. He dodges indiscriminately through the hoard of cars as his friend distracts their pursuers. Finally, he spots it.

"Take out that light!"

Beau's gaze snaps to Lettow, then to the intersection they're hurtling towards. Past the intersection is a streetlamp with an alleyway beside it. The Malkavian's heterochromatic eyes flash. He turns. Aims. Fires. The lamp explodes, sending glass down to the street below. As Beau lowers his gun, Lettow pulls him back into the car. The Prince runs the red light, clipping an oil truck on the turn, then twists the steering wheel to send them into the narrow alley.

Z and the police speed past. The sirens grow quieter as Lettow gets them away from the chaos.

* * *

They travel through silent neighborhoods and down winding side streets until they reach the city's outskirts. Lettow parks on a dirt path off the main road and kills the lights. He leans back and sighs in relief.

The passenger door slams open. The Prince looks over to see his companion throw himself from the car.

"Beau?"

The sound of retching reaches his ears.

Lettow frowns. He gets out of the car and makes his way to the passenger side.

Beau lies in the dirt, propped up on his hands and knees. Thick clumps of vitae pour from his mouth to form a red puddle in front of him. Lettow kneels beside the vomiting Kindred. Hesitantly, he places a hand on the Malkavian's back. Beau shudders.

"Are you alright?"

His friend shakes his head.

"Do you want help?"

A sob wrenches itself from Beau's throat. "I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?"

The Malkavian mumbles something unintelligible. Lettow sighs and starts rubbing circles on his back.

"Shh... Just let it out. It'll be over soon."

They sit for what feels like hours. At some point, Riga appears, landing on the roof of the car. Not long after, Beau's vomiting subsides.

"How do you feel?" Lettow asks.

Beau swallows. He shakes his head and slowly pushes himself to his feet. The Prince steps back to give him space. The Malkavian sways before regaining his balance.

"We should..." He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and stares at the red smear left behind. "We should get back before the sun rises."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Kindred do not normally vomit unless they consume human food. Lettow's aware that his friend has an iron gullet,4 but he's never seen anything like this before, at least, not from Beau.

"Need to change the license plates first," the Malkavian continues, ignoring him. "I have extras in the trunk. I think."

" _Beauregard_."

"Look, can we just. Not talk about this?" Beau wrings his hands together. "Like, never mention this again? Ever."

The Prince crosses his arms. Beau fidgets. He pulls his red aviators from his jacket pocket and obsessively starts to clean them. Heterochromatic eyes flicker, scanning the ground, the car, the city's skyline behind them. But they never settle on Lettow.

The blatant lack of trust hurts more than he expected.

Lettow sighs. "Very well. We should be on our way anyways."

Beau flinches like he's been struck.

"It's not you," he says. His pleading blue-honey brown gaze locks onto Lettow. "Please don't think it's because of you. It's my fault, I'm a fucking dumbass, I should've known better, I-"

"Beau. _Enough_."

The Malkavian's mouth clicks shut. Pain flutters across his face before he turns away.

Lettow watches him pull out the spare license plates. Beau silently swaps out the old ones, tossing them into the trunk when he's done. He takes off his latex gloves and throws them in too. Then they climb back into the car. Riga takes to the skies and they follow behind.

The Prince drives them onto the main road, avoiding the major intersections. He checks his watch: 4:10am.

"I'll drive you back to your haven," he says.

Beau hugs his knees to his chest, shoes leaving scuff marks on the seat. Lettow glances at his friend, but cannot bring himself to say anything more.

It's not long before they pull up beside the two-storey building where Beau and his ghoul live. Riga perches on the roof of the building, watching from above as Lettow parks in an empty parking spot. He turns to the still Malkavian beside him and sighs. Beau breaks the silence first.

"I don't really remember it," he says. He stares at the glove box, eyes glazed. "It's all a blur. Lots of flashing lights. Pain. Fire and smoke and police sirens. Pinned limbs and zipped shut mouths. The scent of blood reaching my nose. Darkness."

"I don't understand."

Beau looks at Lettow. "It was like falling out of the sky. Your engine's busted, wing's cracked, propeller's jammed. Smoke clogging your senses and so much vertigo you can't tell up from down."

Lettow recalls the time he and Aila crashed a plane outside Gibraltar. The smoking engine, the crumbling wing, the twisted propeller, and his heart pounding in his chest as they struggled to control it. They barely made it out by the skin of their teeth.

It was almost like being alive again.

"Like that," Beau says like he knows exactly where the Prince's thoughts drifted. "But you're not fast enough to get out, so you're buried under the burning wreckage. You're _human_. And because you're just human, you're fragile. Breakable. _Weak_. I should've warned you." He tightens his grip around his knees. "I'm sorry."

"I do not think you're weak," Lettow replies, confused. "Exuberant, yes. Stubborn, undoubtedly. Reckless, most definitely. But not weak."

Beau snorts. It's a bitter, cold, dead thing. "I don't even know why I'm afraid. It's just this... tightness in my chest. The whole ride here really, really _sucked_. I felt like I couldn't breathe. At first I thought it was just the adrenaline."

Awareness and realization slowly creeps into Lettow's mind.

The Malkavian always walked to Elysium. Even after he was given a car, he never used it. When he had to use it, he never drove, instead preferring to cling to the passenger's seat as someone else sat behind the wheel. And he was quiet. Abnormally quiet. Lettow, when he drove them to Z's haven not scant hours before, had been so deep in his thoughts that he barely noticed Beau's lack of conversation. Then his friend's reaction when they made their escape...

Beau lurches, turning to Lettow and grasping his hands. The coldness of Beau's fingers causes Lettow's heart to leap into his throat. " _It's not your fault_."

"I should've realized."

"I should've told you." Beau shakes his head. "And we had no other choice when Z turned up. None of that was _your_ fault."

"Even so, I apologize." The Prince gives Beau a stern look when he opens his mouth to argue. "It is my job to take the strengths and weaknesses of my people into account. I might not have known at the time, but I will remember this in case something like it happens again. You have my word."

Beau gapes. He closes his mouth and swallows. With wonder in his eyes, he says, "You are..."

Lettow raises an eyebrow. "I am?"

"I just..." The Malkavian shrugs helplessly and shakes his head. He lets go of Lettow's hands. Lettow lets out the breath he was holding. Beau leans back in his seat and runs a hand through his hair.

They sit in awkward silence before Beau finally says, "I should go. Start working on the thing."

"Right." Lettow clears his throat. "It's almost daybreak. I'll drop the car back at The Viper. Assuming you don't want it anymore?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Beau sends Lettow a grateful smile. Then he pauses, thinking. "Will you have enough time to get to your haven?"

Lettow checks his watch: 4:50am. "I should if I hurry."

"Don't let me keep you then." Beau climbs out. He hurries to the back door and grabs Z's stolen laptop. Tucking it under his arm, he picks up the assault rifle from the front seat and closes the door. As he walks away, Lettow rolls down the window.

"Beau!" the Prince calls. The Malkavian stops and turns back. "Get some rest. And thank you."

"Hey, it's no problem," Beau replies. "Have a good day, Prince. I'll see you later."

Lettow watches as his friend pulls out his keys and unlocks his basement apartment's front door. He turns back and waves. The Prince waves back before closing the window and setting off to The Viper, reflecting on the events that happened that night. He winces.

Beau was right.

Dove was going to be _pissed_.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. On April 3rd 2005, Lettow, Dove, and Beau broke into a Sabbat haven. After dealing with the Kindred inside, Beau set the place on fire without warning. They _barely_ made it out. Back  
> 2\. This comparison spawned a three-part post about Lettow and his issues. You can find part one [here](https://lots-of-little-pink-clouds.tumblr.com/post/642069110972416000/a-really-long-essay-on-lettow-pt-1). Back  
> 3\. "Doll-faced" refers to Maria-Dorothea Castro, called Dolly. More on Beau's sire [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28786023/chapters/70592013). Back  
> 4\. Beau's predator type is Bagger, which comes with the Iron Gullet merit in V5. Back
> 
> The car chase was a bit hard to write ngl. But I recently re-read Breach: The Archangel Job, so that might've helped. It's sequel, Breach: Chicago War Zone, is a WIP on the Choice of Games website. You should check it out, it's pretty good.
> 
> About Beau, he doesn't remember his human life due to how traumatic his embrace was. But some fears carry over despite that. In this case, his fear of cars. To clarify, Beau _can_ drive (in fact, he picks up Lettow after Lettow and Z fell out the window), but he chooses not to. Prior to Bloodlines, he got into a car accident which put him into a three year long coma, and he's hated them ever since.
> 
> On a happier note, Beau owns many pairs of aviators. In this fic, he's rocking red. In [Black Cadillac Valentines](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28660233), he's wearing blue. He's also got purple, pink, and orange. Maybe a few more. He switches them out depending on his mood. It doesn't signify anything special, he just likes wearing a different colour every day.
> 
> Lastly, Imma give credit to my boyfriend for helping me with the title. Lots of metaphors. Thanks babe :)


End file.
